IV ON PLANT LIFE 119 



plant would swear not to injure him. To 

 secure this object, Nanna, Balder's wife, 

 descended upon the earth. Loki, the God 

 of Envy, followed her, disguised as a crow 

 (which at that time were white), and settled 

 on a little blue flower, hoping to cover it up, 

 so that Nanna might overlook it. The flower, 

 however, cried out "forget-me-not, forget-me- 

 not," and has ever since been known under 

 that name. Loki then flew up into an oak 

 and sat on a mistletoe. Here he was more 

 successful. Nanna carried off the oath of 

 the oak, but overlooked the mistletoe. She 

 thought, however, and the divinities thought, 

 that she had successfully accomplished her 

 mission, and that Balder had received the gift 

 of immortality. 



One day, supposing Balder proof, they 

 amused themselves by shooting at him, post- 

 ing him against a Holly. Loki tipped an 

 arrow with a piece of Mistletoe, against which 

 Balder was not proof, and gave it to Balder's 

 brother. This, unfortunately, pierced him to 

 the heart, and he fell dead. Some drops of 

 his blood spurted on to the Holly, which 



